UK PROOF OF AGE SCHEME TO OFFER FREE CARDS

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CitizenCard, the UK's national proof of age scheme, today announced
plans to make the scheme more appealing to young people, including making the
cards free of charge to 16 and 17-year-olds from the autumn.
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The card, which currently costs &amp;pound;5, contains a hologram and the holder's
colour photo, name, date of birth and signature, and is designed to combat
illegal sales of age-restricted products such as tobacco, alcohol and lottery
tickets.
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British American Tobacco, through its membership of the Tobacco
Manufacturers' Association (TMA), has agreed to resource the new UK-wide
marketing plan to make available free cards from the autumn. The marketing plan
will also involve widespread consultation with parents, teachers, local and
national Government, police, retail and consumer groups.
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Reiterating the Government's support for the scheme, Home Office Minister
Mike O'Brien said: &amp;quot;I warmly welcome the industry's move to make these cards
free to 16 and 17-year-olds and tackle the problem of the sale of
age-restricted products to young people.&amp;quot;
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The process will also identify additional commercial opportunities to
extend the availability of free cards to other age groups.
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Mike Bowen, chairman of CitizenCard&amp;#153; said the cards were already popular
with young people - more than 30,000 had been issued since February.
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&amp;quot;The availability of free cards for the critical 16 and 17-year-old age
group will enable retailers to insist on cards being shown, avoiding the sale of
age restricted products such as cigarettes, alcohol, lottery cards and videos to
underage customers.
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&amp;quot;When selling these age-restricted products, our recent research has shown
just how easily retailers can be fooled by people's appearances.&amp;quot;
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Notes to Editors
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<UL>
<LI>CitizenCard&amp;#153; is the UK's national proof of age scheme, offering
cards to anyone over the age of six who is resident in the UK. It is a
non-profit scheme supported by: Association of Convenience Stores,
Camelot, Ladbrokes, National Federation of Retail Newsagents,
Somerfield and the Tobacco Manufacturers Association.
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<LI>Since its launch in February 1999 32,000 cards have been issued.
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<LI>Free CitizenCards&amp;#153; will become available from Autumn 2000.
Application forms are available from schools, retail outlets, police
stations, courts, Citizens Advice Bureaux, GP surgeries and via
<A target="_blank" href="http://www.citizencard.net">http://www.citizencard.net</A>
</LI></LI></UL>
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<LI>Other benefits to cardholders include free phone time, a voicemail
message service and a selection of money-off vouchers including
discounts for music and sports events.
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